Football is on the horizon for young female players with the arrival of the Fifa Unity Pitch in Dunedin.
More than 700 pupils from 22 different schools gathered at Logan Park throughout Friday to participate in the Fern Fever event organised by Southern Football.
The pitch is in Dunedin to generate hype for the Fifa Women’s World Cup 2023 co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia.
It will tour around nine host cities in the lead-up to the tournament.
The Unity Pitch was a great tool to create awareness and also give people a taste of what was to come.Dunedin City Council Major Events co-ordinator Amanda Dyer said the event was aimed at getting young girls involved in sport and giving them the chance to try the different sports in fun settings.
Pupils rotated between fun activities such as big ball football, a referee station, dribbling course and of course the Unity Pitch.
The event had been run six times prior by Southern Football which decided this time to link it with the arrival of the Unity Pitch.
Otago Cricket and Otago Rugby also collaborated in order to celebrate the three women’s world cups of football, cricket and rugby.
Southern Football Girls and Women Development Officer Jess Fuller said placing the Unity Pitch in an open turf space opened up the opportunity for the large number of pupils to all experience the event.
"It’s awesome to see so many girls allowed out of school to play girls-only sport in the Unity Pitch, it makes them feel a bit more valued," she said.
She said events like this were important for inspiring girls to partake in sport.
Football Fern Annalie Longo said the biggest barriers for women in sport were accessibility and visibility.
People could expect, "nothing like they’ve ever seen before" from the world cup, Ms Longo said.
"You’ll see how big women’s football has grown and a massive showcase of women’s sport."
Six world cup matches will be played in Dunedin from late July to early August.
